Qualcomm shows its Toq smartwatch

Smartwatches are certainly becoming the next big thing and although they will most likely never replace smartphones, they are interesting enough for Qualcomm to show off its new Toq smartwatch with Mirasol always-on display that will offer solid battery life and full color performance.

The most important feature of the Qualcomm Toq ("talk") smartwatch is actually its Mirasol display that is so far been only featured in a couple of e-readers. The Mirasol is practically a hybrid between eInk and LCD displays and according to Qualcomm, it is a totally new approach to mobile display technology as microscopic machines (MEMS) which are used to manipulate the size of the air gap inside the reflective material, or precisely, an optical resonant cavity, with thin film optics in order to bring always-on display that delivers the best of both worlds.

Although it did not go into any specifics, according to what Qualcomm showed at IFA 2013, the Toq will offer "days of battery life before the device needs to be charged", which is anyway more than any other similar device can currently offer. Qualcomm also incorporated its own WiPower LE wireless charging technology. The Toq is pretty much the same as all similar smartwatches that we have seen so far as it gives you an ability to manage smartphone calls, messages, e-mails and all other notifications.

Unfortunately, it is still not clear if Qualcomm actually has a reference platform for smartwatch that might sell to some manfacturer but it did note that Toq will be a "limited edition" device and should show up in Q4. The actual price is still a mystery but Qualcomm noted that it should be soon available for order in a black or white color via Qualcomm's site.